Ink cartridges, which house ink for supply to a recording device and can be detachably mounted to the recording device, are well known. For example, JP-A-2004-66488 discloses an ink cartridge including a main body case having an ink housing portion inside and a lid body that closes an aperture surface of the main body case.
The ink housing portion of the ink cartridge is provided with an aperture, a flexible film that covers the aperture, a concave surface that is formed in a concave curved shape continuous with the aperture and that forms a housing space that houses ink. The ink housing portion also includes an ink supply connecting path that connects an ink supply hole in a wall surface of the main body case with a housing space and supplies ink housed in the housing space to the recording device. The ink housing portion further includes an ink insertion connecting path that connects an ink insertion hole in the wall surface of the main body case with the housing space and allows ink to be injected into the housing space from the outside. A check valve is provided that suppresses reverse flow of ink from the ink supply hole to the housing space. A rubber plug is arranged within the ink supply connecting path, and a rubber plug that closes off the ink insertion connecting path is pressed into the ink insertion connecting path.
In the ink cartridge, if the operation by which the lid body closes the main body case is performed after the operation by which ink is inserted into the housing space, the leakage of ink can adversely affect the operation to close the main body case. Therefore, ink is inserted into the housing space via the ink insertion connecting path from the ink insertion hole after the main body case is closed.
However, in the above-described ink cartridge, because the ink insertion operation is performed after the main body case is closed, the ink insertion hole must be open on a wall surface of the main body case. The rubber plug, in turn, is also exposed through the aperture in the main body case. Because of this configuration, the rubber plug may be removed after the ink cartridge is assembled, possibly leading to leakage.
Also, in the disclosed ink cartridge, the ink supply connecting path is positioned in proximity to the ink supply hole. Because the ink insertion connecting path must also be positioned in proximity to the ink insertion hole, assembly of the disclosed in cartridge is complex.